October 17, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 17.10.2024, 13:55
CORRUPTION – Anti-graft prosecutors have today searched the office of the former Minister of Health Nelu Tătaru, in the Huşi Municipal Hospital in eastern Romania, where he works as a surgeon. Last week, Tătaru, who is a Liberal MP representing the county of Vaslui, was put under criminal investigation in a case in which he is accused of having received as bribe, from his patients, sums of money between 20 and 100 euros, as well as foodstuffs. Tătaru claims he is innocent.
WAGE – The minimum wage in Romania will be 810 euros starting January 2025, the Bucharest government and the social partners, who got together in the Tripartite National Committee, decided on Wednesday. Thus, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Romania is entering the path of the European minimum wage. We comply with the directive according to which the minimum level must be somewhere between 47% and 52% of the European minimum wage, Ciolacu explained.
DEFENSE – The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, is participating, on October 17 and 18, in the meeting of the NATO defense ministers, taking place in Brussels. The meeting’s agenda includes topics of importance for the Alliance, in order to implement the decisions adopted by the heads of state and government at the NATO Summit, which took place in Washington DC in July. The ministerial event includes three sessions of talks – one in allied format, dedicated to strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture, one session in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Council, as well as another, for the first time, with partner states in the Indo-Pacific/IP4 region ( Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). The Minister of Defense will also participate in the ministerial meeting of the Global Anti-ISIS Coalition.
AID – The American President, Joe Biden, announced, on Wednesday, during a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, a new military aid for Ukraine worth 425 million dollars which includes additional air defense capabilities, France Presse reports. Biden spoke with Zelenskiy about his efforts to increase military aid to Ukraine until the end of his term in January 2025. Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has approved about $175 billion in economic or military aid for Ukraine. Joe Biden will be in Germany as of Friday for one of his last visits as American President, during which he will discuss the situation in Ukraine.
COUNCIL – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, for two days, in Brussels, at the European Council meeting, which has on the agenda topics such as Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, EU competitiveness, migration, foreign affairs, as well as the Republic of Moldova. European leaders will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war of aggression, as well as multidimensional support for Ukraine. Regarding the Middle East, the ‘alarming’ situation and the ‘risks of escalation of violence in the region’ will be discussed. At Romania’s proposal, the agenda of the meeting will also include discussions about the situation in the Republic of Moldova, as well as about support for its accession to the European Union, especially for supporting internal reforms and for strengthening resilience and stability. In the perspective of the upcoming elections and the referendum on the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, the issue of Russian interference in the election process will also be discussed. On Wednesday, the first EU – Gulf Cooperation Council Summit took place, aimed at strengthening the political and economic partnership between the Union and the member states of this structure, in a difficult geopolitical context.
TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan qualified for the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Osaka (Japan), after defeating the Czech Marie Bouzkova in two sets. In the quarters, Bogdan will face the Dutch Suzan Lamens. Another player from Romania, Jaqueline Cristian, is today up against the Czech Karolina Muchova, in the round of 16 of the WTA tournament in Ningbo (China).
